At Tarouba’s Brian Lara Stadium on August 23, the West Indies played South Africa in the first Twenty20 International. Nicholas Pooran was the star of the show, even though the Windies prevailed by seven wickets. In cloudy conditions, South Africa exceeded the expected average first-inning score and hit the target of 175 runs for the home team.
The hosts went all out in the powerplay, scoring 75 runs while pursuing. With 91 runs needed in 72 balls, Pooran entered the batting order at number three. In the 12th over, with the game firmly in their grasp, the southpaw let loose, hitting Nandre Burger for four straight sixes. After that, he engaged in combat with Patrick Kruger, scoring 16 runs in three balls during the sixteenth over.
After his team crossed the finish line in 18 overs thanks to the stumper-batter, who finished undefeated on 65 off just 26 deliveries. He only hit two boundaries in his inning, but he also hit seven maximums with a 250 strike rate. With those seven sixes, Pooran’s total for T20Is sixes in 96 games climbed to 139. By surpassing Australia’s Glenn Maxwell (134), India’s Suryakumar Yadav (136), and England’s Jos Buttler (137), he became the third batter with the most sixes in Twenty20 Internationals.
“I thought (Shai) Hope and (Alick) Athanaze played well. I only needed to set up the game. I faced my opponents. When SA was batting, the first ten overs were difficult. However, Kruger and Stubbs performed admirably. We always believed we had a chance,” Pooran remarked following the match.
Also Read: Twitter Reactions: Shai Hope, Nicholas Pooran dominate Proteas’ bowling in the 1st T20I
For those who are unaware, India’s captain Rohit Sharma leads the record with 205 sixes in 159 games. Sharma is currently retired from T20Is. The now-retired Martin Guptill of New Zealand, who has 173 sixes in 122 games, comes next.
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